Pittsburgh Steelers Need To Admit Landry Jones Project Is Failure

Aug 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Stefan Charles (left) and linebacker Jacquies Smith (rear hidden) cause Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones (3) to fumble during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 19-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to make a cut on Saturday morning as I sit here and sip my sweet nectar of coffee from my Steelers mug.  And so, I can only contemplate who will stay and who will go and just wait until the wires light up with news of each cut.  But there’s one player I’m looking at in particular on Saturday.

Quarterback Landry Jones

Why Jones?  It’s actually not about him as much as it is when the Steelers organization will realize (or maybe just finally admit after knowing for so long) that the Landry Jones Project has been a complete failure.  From the very head scratching beginning when the Steelers selected Jones in the 4th round of the 2013 draft to the embarrassing start to his NFL career to the painful series of preseason games in 2014, Steeler fans have had to endure a level of mediocrity that is cringe worthy.

Aug 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones (3) calls an audible at the line of scrimmage against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 19-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It is cringe worthy because no one wants to think about what this offense would be like if Jones would have to manage the offense for an entire game.  It is cringe worthy because, it least for this Steelers fan, Jones is one of the biggest busts to come out of the Tomlin/Colbert era.  A fourth rounder out of Oklahoma who had a projected low ceiling and has shown very little in over a year in showing that he will one day in the near future be a viable backup let alone the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.  Jesus, there’s still more potential in Charlie Batch than there is in Landry Jones.

It’s clear that critics of his game have been right  all along, and the Steelers risk in trying to select a young pocket passer to develop while the offense evolves into a less Ben Roethlisberger friendly one has just about blown up in their faces.  Jones has never looked comfortable.  Ever.  He may have thrown for 242 yards in three games (about 5 quarters of work), but he has failed to successfully drive the team downfield for a touchdown – which sounds awfully familiar in what he did in Oklahoma.  It’s almost as if the Red Zone is his kryptonite and the closer he gets to it, the worse he becomes.  Third stringers aren’t meant to be elite and they aren’t expected to elevate a team’s game.  But, they are expected to manage an offense better than what Jones can provide.  And, let’s be totally honest, Jones will never ever be good enough to move up past being a backup quarterback.  So then why waste the time, effort, and resources?

Despite all of this, however, Jones is more than likely to limp onto the roster as the third QB.  The Steelers always carry three, and they cannot risk leaving no one behind Gradkowski.  Perhaps the Steelers can find someone off the waiver wire and then release Jones.  Until something like that happens, Steelers fans are stuck having to see “Landry Jones” on the depth chart for probably just a bit longer.